UP: BSP MP, former party MLA likely to join BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 28 (ANI): Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP from the Lalganj constituency, Sangeeta Azad and former party MLA, Azad Ari Mardan are likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Earlier today, the MP and the former MLA met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital. The move is seen as part of the BJP's strategy to strengthen its organisation in the Purvanchal region.
With places like Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, etc coming under its belt, the Purvanchal region plays a significant role for the BJP.
Ayodhya not only carries spiritual significance for the party but also the epicentre of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement which catapulted it to the centre stage. Gorakhpur, being the constituency of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself, is crucial for the BJP and Varanasi is the home constituency of Prime Minister Modi.
In the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, Sangeeta Azad was pitted against BJP's sitting MP Neelam Sonkar and the former won by a huge margin of 61,000 votes.
Meanwhile, Mayawati's BSP has lost many MPs. Earlier, the party supremo expelled its Amroha MP, Danish Ali, for engaging in "anti-party" activities.
BSP MP from the Jaunpur constituency, Shyam Singh Yadav, also met with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently.
The Lok Sabha polls are scheduled to be held in 2024.
While Mayawati has indicated that her party will contest the polls alone, Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which holds a significant share in the Purvanchal region, has a pact with the newly established INDIA bloc. (ANI)